Susan Wolff, chief executive officer and dean at Great Falls College MSU, read that and contacted the city right away. GFFR Chief Steve Hester called her back and they began discussion on whether the college could provide the needed training, Wolff said.

“This is an experienced group of firefighters and EMTs who have been working on the street,” Henderson said. “This is a specific cohort of experienced EMTs working on an ALS service.”

The condensed version still includes classes like medical terminology and anatomy, among others. Participants will be able to do their clinicals in local hospitals and some of their field work on GFFR engines. They’ll have longer and more intense days during the week, Palermo said.GFFR hires new paramedic, third female in department history

For some of the program, the firefighters will have to be full-time students so GFFR is still working out how to cover shifts and overtime.

At the end of the course, all participants must pass the national registry test to get state paramedic licensure, Henderson said.

If all eight become paramedics, GFFR will have met its strategic goal of having 24 paramedics. That will allow them to have one per shift per station and some left over to cover vacations, sick days, injuries and any other issues.

GFFR currently have 16 and recently amended their labor contract so battalion chiefs can also serve as paramedics when necessary.

Lew Card, executive director of development, communications and marketing, said anyone else looking to fill training needs can call the college to see if they can develop their own training program.

“It’s a great example of thinking outside the box and meeting the needs of the community,” Card said.

Many of the college’s paramedic instructors are themselves working paramedics with GFFR or Great Falls Emergency Services, or previously worked in that capacity. One instructor is a Mercy Flight paramedic.